---
title: "NMB Art Museum celebrates 70 years by bringing art education to 70 township schools"
description: "As part of its 70th anniversary celebrations, the Nelson Mandela Bay Art Museum is bringing art education directly to township schools, unlocking creativity in communities where access to the arts has long been limited."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "UNLOCKING CREATIVE MINDS"
author: "Andisa Bonani"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/andisa-bonani/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-11-nmb-art-museum-celebrates-70-years-by-bringing-art-education-to-70-township-schools/"
published: "2026-08-11T22:43:35"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 787
---

# NMB Art Museum celebrates 70 years by bringing art education to 70 township schools

> As part of its 70th anniversary celebrations, the Nelson Mandela Bay Art Museum is bringing art education directly to township schools, unlocking creativity in communities where access to the arts has long been limited.

By Andisa Bonani · Published 12 August 2026, 00:43 SAST

## Key points
- To mark its 70th anniversary, the Nelson Mandela Bay Art Museum will take free art education to 70 disadvantaged schools across the city.
- Officials say many township schools offer no formal art lessons, creating a pipeline problem in which fewer learners emerge to study art at university; the museum wants to reverse that and make art a viable career path.
- The outreach also responds to a steep drop in school visits since Covid; the programme leans on ward councillors to identify schools that haven’t had museum exposure.
- Local art history — notably New Brighton’s George Pemba legacy — and voices from township artists and interns underline the project’s aim to dismantle stigma and make art education sustainable.

## Content

To commemorate its 70th anniversary, the Nelson Mandela Bay Art Museum is bringing art education to 70 township schools, aiming to unlock the creative potential of local children.

The initiative comes as the museum works to rebuild visitor numbers, which have struggled to recover since the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the museum’s assistant director, Emma O’Brien, the programme also addresses a critical gap: art education is widely undervalued in the city, with many township schools lacking formal art classes altogether.

“With that, we have found that there are fewer artists coming through formal education and going into universities. One of the things we are really concerned about is that children are not being given the opportunity to even try art out, and this is more acute in the township schools due to the former divisions in education.”

![Andisa-Art](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/-V1YQx_AfJRHeLq5zqPyo8y8048=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Trio_691807.jpeg)

*Nelson Mandela Bay's fine art intern Kamvelihle Mrubata with arts education officer Amanda Heshu and the museum’s assistant director, Emma O'Brien. (Photo: Andisa Bonani)*

O’Brien said while there’s a need for art education, some artists in townships such as New Brighton were bridging the gap by becoming teachers.

“We are also trying to promote this more,” she emphasised. “New Brighton has long legs in terms of visual art history because of the late [George Pemba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pemba); his legacy sticks in that community.

“We are not trying to replace the art classroom, but we are ... introducing pupils to the arts so they have an interest to pursue it further. We are working on how to make art sustainable, and we feel if we don’t get the children we won’t give them the chance, and that’s our big fear, that art will become an idea of the past when there’s so much potential for it to be something that pushes people into innovative ways of thinking.”

The art education programme was first mooted at the municipality’s sport, recreation, arts and culture (SRAC) committee last week, which member councillors supported.

### Limited access

A report tabled at the committee stated: “Many public schools within Nelson Mandela Bay have limited or no access to art education due to shortages of specialist educators, limited resources and transport constraints.

“The year 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the Art Museum's existence. This milestone provides a unique opportunity to extend the museum's reach into schools, ensuring that learners are exposed to the transformative power of the arts. The initiative proposes delivering structured arts and culture programmes to 70 schools, symbolically reflecting the museum’s 70 years of service.”

![Andisa-Art](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/JGWaEEfB4P_voPXI9Fz_yKrii28=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/art1_262611.jpeg)

*Artworks at the Nelson Mandela Bay Art Museum on 11 August 2026. (Photo: Andisa Bonani)*

Founded in 1956, the city’s art museum has spent 70 years serving as a vital custodian of visual arts, heritage and cultural education in the metro. Its mission is to preserve and exhibit art while expanding public access, fostering creative appreciation, and enriching local education through hands-on engagement.

The political head of SRAC, Sinebhongo Kwatsha, said, “This programme will ensure that art does not die. Schools teach arts and culture as subjects which focus on dance, singing and the history part of it. They don’t do painting, sculpting, beadwork and the likes that can actually give them a skill they can turn into a career. This is an amazing initiative that we support as the SRAC committee.”

![Andisa-Art](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/TAivsMcrrI-6oO9KqWrFI3xkpM0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Sinebhongo_194376.jpg)

*The political head of SRAC, Sinebhongo Kwatsha. (Photo: Nelson Mandela Bay)*

Arts education officer Amanda Heshu said the museum already has an education programme, which was popular in township schools until Covid hit.

“Creative arts in the schools curriculum is offered up to Grade 9, but not a single school in Nelson Mandela Bay townships offer art. Hence, the museum is a very valuable resource, because you will find that most pupils get to learn about the arts for the first time when they come to the museum, and teachers use what we teach here to assess the pupils. Since Covid, we are not getting enough schools coming to the museum; hence, we have this programme; we are trying to revive it.”

Heshu said ward councillors will help select local schools — specifically those that have never visited the museum — to participate in the art education programme.

![Andisa-Art](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/RUisHQcrShYWFLnoBI_LOdhh9Vs=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Exibit_251227.jpeg)

*An exhibition on 11 August of garments and accessories inspired by Xhosa culture. (Photo: Andisa Bonani)*

Art intern Kamvelihle Mrubata said she was discouraged from pursuing an art degree because it was not viewed as a viable career path.

“Little did they know that art can be used to solve engineering problems. We have to fight the stigma that people who are not good academically should pursue the arts, so that more people can be confident to get into the creative space and make a living out of it.” **DM**